aminolevulinic acid in visualizing a tumor during surgery in patients with glioblastoma multiforme

Conditions: Adult Giant Cell Glioblastoma; Adult Glioblastoma; Adult Gliosarcoma; Recurrent Adult Brain Tumor

Summary: the purpose of this study is to investigate the safety and performance of an investigational agent, known as 5-ala or gliolan (aminolevulinic acid), that many be useful to a surgeon for visualizing a tumor during surgery. it is also being studied to determine if there are differences in what gliolan shows a surgeon compared to intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (mri)

primary objectives: i. determine the volume of residual enhancing tumor after a 5-ala guided resection of a glioblastoma multiforme (gbm). ii. determine the volume of tissue removed compared to the measured enhancing tumor evaluated on a pre-operative mri. secondary objectives: i. evaluate the time to tumor progression. ii. evaluate the overall survival. outline: patients receive aminolevulinic acid orally (po) 2-4 hours before surgery. after completion of study treatment, patients are followed up for 2 weeks.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * patients must have a suspected or biopsy proven newly diagnosed gbm, or a recurrent gbm or suspected gbm (in patient with pathologically diagnosed prior world health organization \[who\] grade ii or iii tumor) in a patient undergoing a clinically-indicated surgery. * age \>= 18 years of age. * eastern cooperative oncology group (ecog) performance status =\ = 60%) * life expectancy is not a consideration for protocol entry * patients must have normal organ and marrow function as defined below: * absolute neutrophil count \>= 1,500/ul * platelets \>= 100,000/ul * total bilirubin within normal institutional limits * aspartate aminotransferase (ast) (serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase \[sgot\])/alanine aminotransferase (alt) (serum glutamic pyruvate transaminase \[sgpt\]) =\< 2.5 x institutional upper limit of normal * creatinine within normal institutional limits; or * creatinine clearance \>= 60 ml/min/1.73 m\^2 for patients with creatinine levels above institutional normal * women of child-bearing potential and men must agree to use adequate contraception (hormonal or barrier method of birth control; abstinence) prior to study entry and for the duration of study participation; should a woman become pregnant or suspect she is pregnant while participating in this study, she should inform her treating physician immediately * ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent document or have a parent or guardian with the ability to understand and the willingness to sign a written informed consent exclusion criteria: * prior therapy is not an exclusion criterion * patients may not be receiving any other investigational agents * history of allergic reactions attributed to aminolevulinic acid (ala) * current treatment with hypericin (or an extract) or other photosensitizing agents * personal or immediate family (parents, siblings, children) history of porphyrias * uncontrolled intercurrent illness including, but not limited to ongoing or active infection, symptomatic congestive heart failure, unstable angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, or psychiatric illness/social situations that would limit compliance with study requirements * pregnant women are excluded from this study; breastfeeding should be discontinued if the mother is treated with ala